March 2013

Combining the experience of running the DM2006 award winning social enterprise: Ideas-at-Work (IaW), the knowledge acquired with the Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI) program (2007), and her recent completion of an MBA (2012), Angelique Smit decided to found the Social Enterprise Support initiative, a network group that provides support and advice to fellow social entrepreneurs in a variety of areas.

Created after intense consultation with social entrepreneurs about their support needs in their path to build successful business models, Social Enterprise Support (SE-Support) emerged as a place where social entrepreneurs from all over the world find fellow social-minded entrepreneurs for a sounding board, bouncing ideas, brainstorming or advice.

With a grant pledge of USD 1 million, the 2013 India Development Marketplace (India DM) seeks to build on the work it has done in supporting social enterprises in India so far. This World Bank initiative aims to surface high-impact social development solutions that have demonstrated initial outcomes and provide catalytic support in helping to scale their work further.

Applying a multi-layer approach, the DM meets this objective first by providing crucial funding to back these projects (USD 50,000 to USD 100,000 per project funded) and then by enabling necessary technical assistance (through an empaneled group of local and regional firms & experts) to help organizations effectively address challenges of scale.

Launched on January 21st of this year, the 2013 India DM focused on 3 low-income states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. The call for proposal invited all social sector organizations (for-profit and non-profit entities) seeking to scale projects in these states, to apply for the grant. Over 190 project proposals have been received from across India in response to the call for proposal, within the stipulated timeline of 30 days, while the call was open.

Social enterprise is naturally democratic and plays an important role in finding solutions to the social upheaval of the Middle EastA protester waves the national flagin front of the burnt out National Democratic Party building of former President Mubarak's ruling party in November 2011. Photograph: Amr Nabil/AP

For two years, I have resisted use of the term Arab Spring to describe the events that have been unfolding in Egypt and the Middle East and North Africa. It is an unrealistic label to use, its application verging on naïve, even lazy, in this situation. Spring is a time where something with strong roots, carefully nurtured, flourishes and grows. We are not there yet; I hope that we may be soon.

What the world witnessed in the initial 18 days of uprising and subsequent political and social developments was a rediscovery of our ability to effect change, a realisation that mass protest is one way to make our collective voice heard.

Do you know an innovative scheme related to water, nutrition or rural development? You can help it scale up by nominating it for the Prize. They are looking for innovative, commercially viable and high-impact initiatives with the objective of helping them achieve scale and financial sustainability.

The winner is selected by the Nestlé CSV Advisory Board and benefits from an investment of up to CHF 500,000 (approx. USD 530,000) to scale up or replicate its project. The goal is also to learn from each other and to identify possible areas of collaboration. They value the experience and insight that their prize winners share with them and those winners value the technical expertise Nestlé may bring.

The Prize is open to individuals, not-for-profit organizations, governmental and inter-governmental organizations, private and social enterprises, and academic institutions.